Pallone Announces Federal Funding for Waterways Impacted by Sandy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2015


WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) announced a $28,000,000 federal grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for the removal of sand and debris impacting navigable waterways as a result of Sandy. This FEMA grant covers 90% of the entire project.

“Getting New Jersey’s waterways back to pre-Sandy conditions remains a top priority,” said Congressman Pallone. “The state faced so many unanticipated costs after Sandy, and I am pleased that FEMA is continuing to help with our ongoing repair efforts.”

Pallone Announces Nearly $2.5 Million for Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority Repairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2015


WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today announced an additional $2,473,024.95 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority (BRSA) to repair Superstorm Sandy damage to Blower Building Two.

“Sandy severely damaged critical components of infrastructure at BRSA, and this grant will help make necessary repairs still affecting the Bayshore’s sewerage system,” said Congressman Pallone. “I am pleased to see grant money continuing to come in to help BRSA with a full recovery from the storm, and I will continue to work to see that they receive the funds they need.”

BRSA serves Hazlet, Union Beach, Holmdel, Aberdeen, Keansburg, Keyport, Matawan and parts of Marlboro. BRSA suffered extensive flooding as a result of Sandy causing damages of about $20 million. This grant to BRSA is awarded in addition to three FEMA grants, totaling nearly $20 million, announced in 2013, to repair damage done to sewerage incinerators at the facility, the raw sewage main pump station and three surrounding facilities.

Congressman Pallone has visited BRSA to discuss the damage sustained during Sandy and the critical repair work necessary to repair this important infrastructure. Hurricane Sandy flooded the 24-acre facility with up to 3 feet of water, and the Authority lost electric power for seven days, phone service for two weeks and internet for three weeks.

Federal Grant Assistance Announced For Middletown's Sandy-Affected Homeowners

From Middletown Alerts:

Middletown residents whose homes were substantially damaged by Superstorm Sandy may be eligible for up to $15,000 in federal grant assistance to help with living expenses through the Superstorm Sandy Homeowner/Renter Assistance program (SHRAP).

Middletown Township has received a $1.5 million slice of Monmouth County’s $9 million SHRAP allocation to assist homeowners struggling to recover from the historic storm. Middletown’s program will be limited to residents whose homes were determined to have been “substantially-damaged” and that need assistance with housing-related expenses.

Middletown expects to begin processing applications by January 2014. Read more

Rep. Pallone Announces $250,000 to Prevent Youth Substance Abuse in Monmouth and Middlesex Counties

LONG BRANCH, NJ – U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today announced $250,000 in federal grants for youth substance abuse prevention efforts that will benefit his constituents in Monmouth and Middlesex Counties. The grants are administered under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program (DFC) by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The Middlesex County Substance Abuse Coalition and The Prevention Coalition of Monmouth County will each be awarded $125,000 for youth drug and alcohol prevention and education programs. The DFC Support Program provides grants of up to $625,000 over 5 years to community coalitions that facilitate citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. The program awarded grants totaling more than $80 million to nearly 700 community coalitions across the country.

“Our local organizations are in the best position to tackle the devastating problem of substance abuse among our youth,” said Pallone. “These important federal grants leverage the abilities of our local leaders to educate our youth about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse so we may prevent it in the first place, and keep our communities safe and our young people healthy. We also know that stopping drug use before it ever begins is always the most cost-effective way to reduce drug use and its consequences.”

The DFC Program was created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 and reauthorized by Congress in 2001 and 2006. Since 1998, ONDCP has awarded more than 2,000 Drug-Free Communities grants to local communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Palau, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

New Jersey Community Health Centers Receive $18 Million In Funding From Affordable Care Act

For Immediate Release:
May 1st, 2012

(NEW JERSEY) – Today, seven local community health centers in New Jersey were awarded $18 million in funding through the Affordable Care Act.

The money will be used to expand facilities and improve existing services, as well as address pressing facility and equipment needs. Some 17,450 new patients will also be served as a result of the shared federal grants.

The seven community health centers sharing the federal grants are:

•  Community Health Care (Bridgeton)
•  Henry J. Austin Health Center (Trenton)
•  Monmouth Family Health Center (Long Branch)
•  Newark City Health and Human Services (Newark)
•  Project H.O.P.E (Camden)
•  Southern Jersey Family (Hammonton)
•  Zufall Health Center (Dover)

“Community health centers fill an important need in our local cities and towns,” said Joshua Henne, New Jersey spokesman for Know Your Care. “This funding is critical to ensuring that these centers can continue providing the care and resources that help to keep New Jersey’s families and communities healthy. The Affordable Care Act has proved crucial to maintaining these health centers and bringing much-needed care to The Garden State.”

All across America, grants totaling more than $728 million will support 398 renovation and construction projects - creating jobs and boosting the ability of health centers ability to care for additional patients. These awards are part of a series of capital investments made available to community health centers under the Affordable Care Act - which provides $9.5 billion to expand services over five years and $1.5 billion to support major construction and renovation projects at community health centers.

Overall, since the beginning of 2009, employment at community health centers nationwide has increased 15%. Through the Affordable Care Act and the Recovery Act, community health centers are today serving nearly 3 million additional patients tand will serve an additional 1.3 million new patients in the next two years.For more information on the grants and grantees, please visit:

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/05/20120501a.html

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The Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23rd, 2010. Over the past two years, it has been a tremendous help to millions of Americans as this real reform lowers costs and guarantees more choice for consumers. As additional provisions are implemented, ACA will continue to benefit millions more people.

Pallone Announces Over Half a Million Dollars in Fire Grants for Ocean Twp., Middletown Fire Departments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 21, 2011

Middletown Township Fire Department will receive $465,320

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. Wednesday announced that two fire departments that serve his constituents in Ocean Township and Middletown have each been awarded Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG). Ocean Township Fire District 1 will receive $175,468 and the Middletown Township Fire Department will receive $465,320. The Ocean Township fire department will spend the grant on a new breathing apparatus which will replace 36 units that are at the end of their useful life. The Middletown Fire Department will purchase new radios to replace radios made obsolete by new Federal Communications Commission standards.

“Christmas has come early this year for these local fire departments, because without this grant it would be difficult to afford this necessary equipment,” said Pallone. “This funding will make a difference locally by making it safer for local firefighters and first responders to do their job and save lives.”

The AFG program is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security and is part of a coordinated effort to improve the nation’s ability to respond to emergency situations.

Over the past year, over one million dollars in grant money has been awarded to fire departments in the sixth Congressional district to improve community emergency services.

N.J. loses bid for federal Race to the Top money

Nice job the Governor did in helping to secure "Race to the Top" grant, if he tried any harder we may have come in 12th or 13th. What a shame!!

BY LESLIE BRODY
THE RECORD


New Jersey lost its bid Tuesday for $400 million in federal Race to the Top grants for school reform — by a nose.

Judges ranked New Jersey number 11 but only the top 10 contestants got money. Its score of 437.8 out of 500 fell only three points short of Ohio’s winning plan.

Public finger-pointing began immediately as the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union, blamed the loss on Governor Chris Christie’s last-minute rejection of the grant proposal negotiated by his education commissioner and union representatives.

Christie’s “irrational, ideological hatred of NJEA — which led him to throw his own commissioner of education under the school bus for cooperating, rather than conflicting, with NJEA — has led to utter failure, and the loss of desperately needed funds for our public schools,” union president Barbara Keshishian blasted to members online.

Christie spokeswoman Maria Comella countered that “if it’s a choice between choosing the children of New Jersey and capitulating to the status quo the governor will choose the children’s education every time.”

She also noted that an area where New Jersey’s score jumped 23 points since its failed first-round bid was the section on creating “great teachers and leaders.” That part included several of the key proposals the NJEA protested, such as individual merit pay and undercutting seniority rules by retaining the most effective teachers when budget cuts require layoffs....

Read More >>> Here

HOLT AND PALLONE LAUD FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING FOR FORT MONMOUTH WORKERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2008

U.S. Representatives Rush Holt (NJ-12) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-6) today lauded the announcement from the U.S. Department of Labor that it is awarding the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development $3 million in federal funding to retain a portion of the Fort Monmouth workforce. This funding will allow up to 1,100 Fort Monmouth employees to continue their work until June 30, 2010. The lawmakers believe keeping these highly skilled workers on board will ensure that our soldiers fighting abroad have the support they need as they fight to protect our country. The grant will also be used to assist workers in upgrading their skills through job training, as well as for efforts designed to attract businesses seeking to enter or expand their presence in the defense, communications, and homeland security sectors.

“While we continue to oppose the decision to close Fort Monmouth and pursue ways to reverse it, the talented workers at Fort Monmouth should be given every opportunity to continue to do their important work,” Holt said.

"While I continue to oppose the closure of Fort Monmouth, this grant will provide essential funding to retain the highly skilled workforce at the fort," Pallone said. "Working with Governor Corzine, we will ensure that job creation is a priority so that the high tech jobs at Fort Monmouth stay in Monmouth County to support essential base operations."